Tracy Cosgriff

Tracy Cosgriff received her B.A. in Classics and Art History from the University of California at Davis and was named 2009 University Medalist in recognition of her academic and extra-curricular achievements. An expert of the Italian Renaissance, she earned her Ph.D. in the History of Art and Architecture from the University of Virginia in 2016. Her doctoral dissertation, “Raphael’s Stanza della Segnatura and the Rhetoric of Julian Justice,” resituates the Vatican masterpieces in light of early modern literary culture. Professor Cosgriff is the recipient of numerous fellowships, grants, and awards. She has been a Fulbright Scholar, a Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Rome “La Sapienza,” and a member of the Society of Fellows at UVa. Her teaching spans the early modern global panorama and emphasizes object-based study and cross-disciplinary learning. Before joining the faculty at The College of Wooster in 2017, she was Visiting Assistant Professor of Art History at Hamilton College in New York.

A lifelong student of Latin and Greek, Professor Cosgriff is interested in the relationship of word and image in Renaissance Italy, the reception of antiquity, and the history of the book. Her research focuses on the painter Raphael and his critical engagement with the classical tradition. She is currently completing a book on Raphael’s famous frescoes in the private library of Julius II, revisiting these canonical compositions in light of the pope’s collection of luxury manuscripts and printed books. Forthcoming publications reconsider aspects of Raphael’s pictorial practice and the legacy of his papal patrons. Other projects investigate the intersection of artistic and poetic design, including the visual inheritances of Horace and Dante.